The Most Absurd SEO Tips & Techniques You Wish You Heard First

Everywhere you turn, headlines are popping up that claim SEO is dead, or becoming obsolete.

Taken out of context, that is a pretty convincing argument as to why so many new websites don’t feel it’s worth the effort to bother with search engine optimization. Yet the context is that any truth behind these claims applies only to specific SEO Tips & Techniques.

First of all, avoid any “SEO Tricks”…

Because “tricks” is a phrase used to describe a deceptive or manipulative act. Like a magic trick. These are strategies that are becoming obsolete. For every one SEO trick that fails, 5 more pop up in its’ place.

Secondly, get your priorities straight.

Once upon a time, a series of SEO strategies would increase ones’ chances of the goal to rank on the first page of search engine results for a specific set of keywords (a search phrase).

Over time, search engine results would become infested with spam and low-quality websites who used a series of SEO techniques to achieve that same goal. This is no good for anyone because nobody likes spam.

That’s why the king of all search engines (if you don’t know who that is, you should Google it) has taken back control with a series of updates to their algorithms, each designed to penalize websites that follow deceptive SEO techniques, including (but not limited to):

• Content spinning
• Link spamming
• Low-quality content

Needless to say, the spammers of the world unite to moan and groan about being ostracized, without considering the possibility that:

• When you clone something, the original will always be better. At the same time, humans can tell when a page has been spun and it’s just not worth reading.
• The value of links in regard to search engine placement is not very complicated. The best backlinks are valuable because they are relevant, reaching a targeted audience in a natural way.
• If your website were a restaurant, your web content would be the menu. Your website is not a restaurant, and everyone who glances at your content can decide very quickly if they want to stay or go somewhere else. If more visitors choose to leave than those who stay, you’re doing something wrong.

In a nutshell, the websites that will reign on the front page of targeted search results are those that put the priority in providing a targeted audience with a quality website full of useful information.

So the most absurd (yet effective) SEO Techniques to follow are…

1. Ensure your website design is clean, relevant, professional, and effective.
2. Hire a copywriter to work on your web content, even if it’s only to polish things up.
3. Don’t hire a cheap writer. It’s your brand on the line!
4. Stick to the basics with on-site SEO. Each individual page (including the images) should be optimized for the most relevant keyword that describes that page. Keep it simple. SEO should be an afterthought with web content. (See # 3)
5. The purpose of a blog is to engage your audience, keep subscribers interested, and attract new visitors through social sharing and natural backlinks. So don’t plan a blog post around a keyword… plan a blog around a topic. If you hire somebody to contribute to your blog, see #3 again.
6. Understand that quality websites are what people want, and you’re just not ready for a #1 spot in search engine results until you can satisfy real people.
7. Off-site SEO has many tiers. Social media works wonders, and you can give your website more authority with the rel=” author” tag to connect with your G+ profile. (https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/2539557?hl=en) Local businesses benefit by claiming your Google Places page.
8. You can build your own links through content marketing, but it’s so much easier to sit back and let your audience build those links for you! Every time an article is shared on Facebook or Twitter, an angel gets her wings. Or at the very least, a website gets new traffic. From there, it spreads… but it never happens when you don’t have your priorities straight.
9. Finally, stop looking at competitors and look inward! Define a brand that is unique, because no website will achieve sustainable success through aggressive or short-lived placement on the front page of search results.

In Summary:

There is an entire industry based on providing innovative SEO tips and techniques, many of which are in response to search engine algorithm updates. In fact, the unpredictability of best SEO practices is what keeps this industry afloat.

However, the best SEO tips and techniques can be found in the Google Webmaster Quality Guidelines (https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35769?hl=en) and it’s not complicated. Put quality first and don’t look for shortcuts, because sustainability relies on a strong foundation.